


A brief deviation.

by perniciousanarchy



Series: With Forked Tongues Selling Faux Sermons [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angels, Demons, Immortal Friendships, M/M, One-Sided Relationship, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Original lgbt Characters - Freeform, Other, Pinewick, Pining, Working out my Christian trauma through OCs :)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perniciousanarchy/pseuds/perniciousanarchy
Summary: If a demon has a distinctly non-demonic revelation in a tiny human town, and no one is around to acknowledge it, does it make a sound?Charmaine attempts to confront Benjamin about his clear infatuation.
Relationships: Benjamin & Charmaine, Benjamin/Farron Heights
Series: With Forked Tongues Selling Faux Sermons [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2134455
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	A brief deviation.

“You’re not still pining over that weirdo, are you?”

Benji’s hands hovered above the piano keys for a moment before stilling, the music drifting from his grasp as a voice interrupted it. His eyes flicked upward to find Charmaine leaning nonchalantly against the ornate instrument, drumming her fingertips against it.

“‘Pining’,” Benji echoed, as if the word were foreign to him, “‘Weirdo’. Can’t say I know what you mean,” and to his credit, he was being mostly honest. Demons didn’t pine, and the implications of the word “weirdo” were still lost on him, as he understood little of human social norms. Somewhere in the back of his mind were pieces that were dangerously close to falling into place, but Benjamin decided that if he kept ignoring them, he wouldn’t have to figure out what they meant. If a demon has a distinctly non-demonic revelation in a tiny human town, and no one is around to acknowledge it, does it make a sound?

Char was unimpressed, her steel gaze remained trained on his brass one- she assumed he was deflecting. Benjamin had nothing to deflect.

“So you mean to tell me,” the angel drawled, tapping a finger against the piano for emphasis, “that you haven’t been following that scruffy human around like a lost puppy for the last six months or so?”

Benjamin huffed, flicking a bit of dust from his cassock and pouting in a manner that was definitely not petulant and very, very dignified. “I know none of you quite understand the job description-“

“The job that you gave yourself?”

“- But the humans of this settlement are under my jurisdiction, so it’s important to keep tabs on them. Getting them to like me just makes my job easier.”

“He’s an outsider, Ben. Probably going to move on in a month or two, anyway.”

Benjamin couldn’t help the affronted look on his face. As if he hadn’t thought of that! As if he hadn’t spent many a sleepless night staring at his bedroom ceiling considering the possibility in his head, replaying it over and over in his mind as if he could desensitize himself to the pain of the human’s inevitable departure.

“Everyone who passes through Pinewick is under my jurisdiction! There are no outsiders here,” he declared nobly, as if expecting Char to applaud him for his kindness and generosity. As it were, however, all he received was a blank stare. It turned out that fellow immortals tended to be more difficult to lie to.

Char only continued to regard him with an unreadable expression, long enough to make Benjamin fidget uncomfortably under the scrutiny. His celestial friend had always been fairly opposite to him in regards to personality. This tended to lead to negative consequences, in the demon’s case- where Benjamin was impulsive, oblivious, and lacking in tact, Char remained observant, shrewd, and clever. 

He was just lucky she was laissez-faire enough to let him off the hook in most cases. That was one of the few traits they had in common, after all.

That didn’t mean he was free of the consequences of Char’s disappointment, which were usually far more devastating.

“Look, you know I usually don’t care what you do, because we have something of a symbiotic relationship here,” Benji did not know what that meant, but he kept quiet. “But that’s why I have to say something. This guy is nothing but trouble for you, Benji. He knows-“

“Isn’t it great?” Benjamin interjected enthusiastically, beaming, “I don’t have to pretend around him, Char!”

Said angel threw her hands up, clearly at her wit’s end. “No! It isn’t! It’s dangerous, you idiot! I can’t believe I have to tell you this!”

Benjamin simply chuckled in amusement, poking at the piano keys absentmindedly, producing a random staccato of “plinks” that echoed throughout the chapel. He wasn’t stupid- he knew there was a good chance of things going awry. He was aware, at least distantly, of the risks he was taking by simply allowing Farron to remain in his town. Logically, he understood- but that was as far as it went. It was as if something had gotten lost in translation between his head and whatever resided in his demonic chest in place of a heart, and he was at the mercy of the latter.

“You worry over nothing, Char,” Benjamin chided, deciding he did not like the direction their conversation was heading, nor the uncomfortable truths that would accompany it.

“I’m not worried,” she huffed, blowing her fringe out of her face. 

Honesty was not the dominion of a demon, after all, just as lying was not the dominion of angels.

“Promise you’ll be careful. If you get booted off the mortal plain, I’ll have to go back to paperwork. I don’t care what else you do, as long as you don’t cause trouble for me.”

Benjamin’s fingers stilled their prodding of the piano’s keys, and the chapel fell silent but for the click of Charmaine’s heels on the old wooden floor as she turned and left Benji alone in the chancel once again. The easygoing smile slid from his face to be replaced by something more melancholy.

“... Promise,” he lied.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I am very heavily invested in this world and the characters I have crafted and I love my stupid gay demon son! :) You will love him too. That is a threat


End file.
